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Caesar Dressing

August 14, 2014

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Caesar Dressing
Still plenty of summer greens left, right?

Well romaine lettuce happens to be, by far, my most favorite salad green. And my husband and I just adore Caesar salad.

Caesar Dressing
When I first met him, it was the only “vegetable” he would eat. A Caesar salad. Slowly (slowly…) over the years I have been able to help his little taste buds along to *tolerate* other veggies, but he definitely will eat a large plate of Caesar salad without hesitation, and I will take that any day!

Caesar Dressing
I have been working on this Caesar dressing for quite a while to get it just right. To taste just like what he loves to order at a restaurant or buy in the store. What’s the point of eating something “healthy” like a salad when you drown in it soybean oil, corn syrup, and MSG?!

Caesar Dressing
My secret weapon to the dressing is avocado oil. Super mild smell, and not as powerful in taste as olive oil. Sometimes when you are used to store bought or restaurant dressings, olive oil based homemade dressings can be a little overwhelming.

Caesar Dressing
I have worked on making my Caesar dressing have the same salty bite as regular Caesar without the fish. I don’t have access to quality sourced anchovies, nor to is it in our budget to order the ones that you can find online. Parmesan definitely does the trick!

Caesar Dressing
This dressing is loaded with beautiful friendly fats to nourish your family.  And especially knowing how hard my husband works all day, it is so important to replenish him with real food. Be sure to check out the tips section if you have special food allergies – I left some great swaps for you!

Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Caesar Dressing

This dressing is loaded with beautiful friendly fats to nourish your family. And especially knowing how hard my husband works all day, it is so important to replenish him with real food. 
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: American
Keyword: caesar dressing without fish, caesar salad dressing, homemade caesar dressing
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Renee - www.raisinggenerationnourished.com

Ingredients

  • 1 pastured egg yolk See tips section if you are egg free!
  • 1-2 tsp organic mustard watch those ingredients!
  • Juice of ½ a lemon about 1 TB
  • ½ cup avocado oil Could also do ¼ cup avocado oil and ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup whole sour cream see tips section if you are dairy free!
  • ¼ cup grated organic parmesan Raw if available. See tips section if you are dairy free!
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper Or more if you want more heat!
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper

Instructions

  • Everything into a pint jar and use an immersion blender to emulsify!
  • If you don’t have an immersion blender you could add everything but the oil to a food processor and add the oil in slowly through the top drip opening to emulsify.

Tips:

  • This makes a little over half pint of dressing which is perfect for sending with my husband to work to keep in the fridge there for his salads for a week. Just double up if you want more! If I know all of us will be eating it I will double up into a quart jar and send half along with my husband to work.
  • If you are egg free, it should work to just keep the yolk out and maybe use an extra scoop of sour cream.
  • If you are dairy free, you can use coconut yogurt or coconut milk instead of the sour cream. And for the parm you have a couple options. Many people who can’t have cow dairy can have sheep or goat milk – so you could use Pecorino Romano which is a sheep milk cheese. Look in the gourmet cheese section at your grocer if you don’t have a cheesemaker near you. Feta could work although is a softer cheese. If you can’t have that then I would just leave out the cheese. You may have to add more sea salt to create the taste of the cheese.
  • An immersion blender really does work best for the dressing if you are wanting to go fast! Just emulsify it right up in the jar! No mess! My food processor works as well, you just have to drizzle the oil in slowly with the drip top.
  • Don’t forget the kids! The girls *love* Caeaser salad – and I ordered these stainless steel condiment containers for my oldest’s lunchbox this fall. I can pack her a salad
    and she can pour on the dressing herself!

Tell me how the family likes the dressing when you try it!

This post was shared at Fat Tuesday!

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48 Comments

  • Reply Libby August 14, 2014 at 2:48 pm

    YES! A caesar dressing that is actually nourishing! This is a great day in the Libby household because I thought we would have to swear it off forever! 🙂

  • Reply Jennifer Margulis August 14, 2014 at 5:02 pm

    I love making my own Cesar salad dressing!

    • Reply Karen Tweed May 15, 2019 at 5:23 pm

      5 stars
      Mine came out a little too salty, but I’m not sure if I did anything wrong or not? What kind of mustard do you use?

  • Reply Raia August 14, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    Pinned! Sounds delicious!

  • Reply Jessica August 14, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    I want to just take a spoon and eat that! Yum!!!

  • Reply Emily @ Recipes to Nourish August 14, 2014 at 9:24 pm

    This looks so good! I can’t wait to try it.

    • Reply Renee Kohley August 15, 2014 at 6:17 am

      It is so good – I hope you guys enjoy it!

  • Reply Susanne Runion August 17, 2014 at 2:18 am

    This really looks great. I use avocado oil a lot also. When I went to Hawaii, it was impossible to buy a decent brand of olive oil and have been using avocado oil ever since.

  • Reply Anno August 22, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    Here’s a tip for making salad dressings. Most blender bottoms screw onto a canning jar without a problem. Whenever I make dressing, I simply put all my ingredients into a small topped canning jar, screw the blender blade into it, flip it upside down and blend it. Voila! You have a jar of salad dressing to keep in the fridge and all you have to wash is the blender blade.

    • Reply Renee Kohley August 22, 2014 at 4:28 pm

      Very cool!

    • Reply Stephany January 24, 2015 at 1:44 pm

      My husband sounds like yours. He cannot stand most vegetables but loves caesar salads, with plenty of croutons-btw! I have been wanting to try making his caesar dressing for a while now because any healthier versions that I have found in the stores do not taste like what you get at a restaurant or like Ken’s brand which is his favorite. This sounds like it might be the right one! The only thing that concerns me is the cayenne. He doesn’t like spicy. Does caesar dressing typically have cayenne? Can you taste the cayenne or does it blend in? I really want to try this!

      • Reply Stephany January 24, 2015 at 1:51 pm

        Oops. I didn’t mean to post this again. I didn’t know how to delete it.

  • Reply How I Am Packing My Kindergartener's Lunch This Year :: Gear, Packing Tips, & Lunch Ideas - Raising Generation Nourished August 25, 2014 at 9:14 pm

    […] for dips like peanut butter, guacamole, sour cream, or dressings like Ranch for veggie dipping, or Ceasar for a salad. I will probably be packing some plain chicken here and there and will send along some […]

  • Reply 7 Kitchen Staples To Stop Buying and Start Making - Live Simply December 11, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    […] Sunday evening I take 5 minutes and make my husband a pint of Caesar dressing to take with him to work. He takes along a couple bags of lettuce and some grated parmesan cheese […]

  • Reply Jill January 1, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    Love Caesar salad! I have a healthy recipe similar to this. For those who don’t do dairy or want to do less of it, you can add nutritional yeast to replace that sharp tangy flavor of the cheese. I love your site!

    • Reply Renee Kohley January 1, 2015 at 1:30 pm

      Thank you Jill! I appreciate your kind words!

  • Reply Beth January 1, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    How long do you think this was last in the fridge? a week? two weeks? My husband loves caesar dressing but I don’t like it as much.

    • Reply Renee Kohley January 2, 2015 at 7:08 am

      With the egg yolk in there it will be about a week. If you want less dressing you could half the recipe (you can keep a whole yolk in there though) 🙂

  • Reply Regina January 2, 2015 at 2:34 pm

    I finally got my wife on board to eat more salad but, I am afraid that if she becomes to bored with it she will lose interest. I’m going to give this a try to keep her engaged. Super easy recipe and I can get all the ingredients here in Germany. Thank you!

  • Reply Mim January 13, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    Since avocados are on the “Clean Fifteen” list, I don’t really worry so much about getting organic avocado oil. Please do another post if your research shows that organic avocado oil is much better than conventional! I can’t wait to try this dressing – I love a good Caeser!

    • Reply Renee Kohley January 13, 2015 at 6:30 pm

      Hi Mim! I don’t buy organic avos for that reason either. I don’t think it mentions in the post that the oil must be organic – correct me though if I am not catching that! I did link the brand I was using at the time that I wrote the post – and actually since I wrote this post our Costco has started carrying Avocado oil at a much better price point for me so I am purchasing it there now 🙂 I hope that helps – enjoy the dressing!

  • Reply Stephany January 22, 2015 at 10:07 pm

    My husband sounds like yours. He cannot stand most vegetables but loves caesar salads, with plenty of croutons-btw! I have been wanting to try making his caesar dressing for a while now because any healthier versions that I have found in the stores do not taste like what you get at a restaurant or like Ken’s brand which is his favorite. This sounds like it might be the right one! The only thing that concerns me is the cayenne. He doesn’t like spicy. Does caesar dressing typically have cayenne? Can you taste the cayenne or does it blend in? I really want to try this!

    • Reply Renee Kohley January 23, 2015 at 6:21 am

      Hi Stephany! Just leave the cayenne out and give it a taste to see what you think. There is usually a bit of a salty-heat bite to ceasar from the sardines – It is not “spicy” at all but you can try it without and see what you think 🙂

      • Reply Stephany January 24, 2015 at 1:50 pm

        That is what I needed to know! That is a great idea to taste it without it first. But as long as I know it isn’t spicy that is what I needed. I can’t wait to try this! Also, is the avocado oil that is pictured above the same avocado oil from Mountain Rose Herbs? When I went to the link it showed a plain bottle with no label. I was just curious what to expect if I ordered this oil. Thanks so much for replying to the questions that you get.

        • Reply Renee Kohley January 24, 2015 at 7:15 pm

          Hi Staphany – no problem 🙂 The avo oil is mountain rose herbs although since writing this post our Costco started carrying some and I love it 🙂 And the price – so I have switched 🙂

  • Reply Asian Salad Dressing :: MSG , Gluten, & Soy Free - Raising Generation Nourished February 6, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    […] of salad dressing for the fridge every Sunday to last us the week. My husband takes his staple Caesar dressing to work every week (don’t ask him to veer from this comfort zone either!) and I have quite a few […]

  • Reply 10 Salad Dressings to Stop Buying and Start Making - Live Simply March 27, 2015 at 10:17 am

    […] Caesar: This dressing is fish-free but tastes just like your favorite Caesar from the restaurant without […]

  • Reply Kiersten Emsley April 10, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    I am curious about why you use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. I LOVE fresh garlic in my salad dressing!

    • Reply Renee Kohley April 10, 2015 at 9:13 pm

      Hi Kiersten! I LOVE fresh garlic too! I go through a good 4 or so heads per week! In this recipe the un-cooked garlic gives too much heat – it would make the dressing pretty spicy. You could certainly try it if you want though!

  • Reply Sharon May 14, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    Renee, I am so happy to find you. I have been searching for healthier NO MSG dressings forever. I am going to collect ingredients and start trying several of your recipes. I am also excited that you give us dairy free options for some of your recipes. That is so kind of you…extra work for you, but so nice for us NO DAIRY folks. Thank you for sharing with us.

  • Reply Greg Landry May 15, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    5 stars
    I just finish making the ceasar dressing and I really enjoyed it. Made it with coconut milk (wasn’t too sure at first) and it turn out great. I have to watch my cholesterol. From now on it is my fav ceasar dressing… Thank you.

    • Reply Renee Kohley May 15, 2015 at 9:14 pm

      That’s great Greg! Glad you enjoyed it!

  • Reply Amy September 26, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    5 stars
    This dressing was SO good! I made it for my birthday dinner and we loved it!

    • Reply Renee Kohley September 26, 2015 at 7:43 pm

      Hi Amy! That is so great! Thanks for letting me know!

  • Reply Bernadette October 5, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    Your dressing recipes are an answer to a prayer. Hopefully I can get my husband to stop buying bottled dressing!

    • Reply Renee Kohley October 6, 2015 at 10:11 am

      Hi Bernadette! That’s great 😉 Dressing was a hard one for my hubby too!

  • Reply Gwyn August 12, 2016 at 11:18 pm

    I am newly on a very restricted food intolerance diet, and am finding that having a variety of dressings on hand is the key for flexibility, especially for eating at work or out (just put a little travel size squeeze bottle in your purse or work frig). By swapping rice vinegar for the lemon, this is also fruit free (I can have avocado oil, some fruit free people cannot), as well as potato free, soy free, etc. etc. Excuse my language, but this dressing is fucking amazing!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    • Reply Renee Kohley August 13, 2016 at 6:22 pm

      Hi Gwyn! I definitely know how that goes! I’m so glad this works for you!

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